More than a date
by spiffytgm
Summary: The other side of the story "I Need a Date", told from Ranger's POV. Babe HEA Rated M for language and smut.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my own take on Janet Evanovich's world. All mistakes are mine. This story is entirely Ranger's POV, he wanted to tell his side of the story. This chapter sums up all 20 (so far) JE books, and the first 4 chapters of I need a date. (again, from Ranger's POV). It seems a bit Noir, but that's how I see him. Let me know what you think!**

I walked along the hot Miami beach as the last rays of the setting sun spilled across the horizon. I was troubled by the thoughts in my head. The worst one was the one that kept repeating, 'you're too late'. I thought about her curly brown hair and piercing blue eyes. She was the only woman I had ever known who had power over me, and I may have let her slip through my fingers.

My name is Ricardo Carlos Manoso, Carlos to my family, but most people call me Ranger. I own Rangeman, a security company with offices in Boston, Miami, Atlanta, and Trenton. I have killed people. I killed people as a soldier fighting in the Army Rangers for my country, I killed people as a mercenary fighting for causes I believed in, and I killed people to keep those I love safe. I don't regret the choices I have made. I regret waiting too fucking long.

I remember the day I met her. The office manager for Vincent Plum Bail Bonds, Connie Rizzoli had called and asked me if I would show a new BEA the ropes. I still have no idea why I said yes. As soon as she walked into the diner where I said I would meet her, a voice in my head said, 'MINE'. I tried to warn her away. I told her that I don't do relationships. I told her that I was bad for her. I saw her naked in her shower, handcuffed to the curtain rod, and I knew I would have her.

She filled my thoughts more and more. I gave her cars which she managed to destroy. I assigned men to keep her safe when I couldn't be there. When I had to go out of town, I stopped to see her before I could leave, and went to her as soon as I got back.

She started dating a cop. He was a decent enough guy, but he was a fool to let her come near me. It seemed that as much as I was drawn to her, she was also drawn to me. Then I slept with her. I had hoped that we would have one amazing night together and then both be able to move on. I was wrong in so very many ways.

I told her that there was no price for what we had given each other, and sent her back to the cop. I lied. I would pay the price myself to protect her heart. She was the light to my darkness, the Wonder Woman to my Batman, and I would keep her safe, even from myself. I thought I was incapable of the kind of love she needed. I was haunted by the ghosts of war and the mistakes of my youth. I thought I couldn't be who she wanted. I was wrong.

We circled each other. Both of us afraid to be burned by the fire that raged between us. An irresistible force on a collision course with an immovable object. She moved into my apartment temporarily. She worked for me briefly. She made love with me occasionally. Every time we got too close, I wanted to beg her to stay, even as I pushed her away.

Then I saw the Giraffe. A majestic animal that in no way belonged on the streets of Trenton. Of all the things I have seen and done over my life, I've never seen anything like the Giraffe wandering around the streets of the city I call home. She is with me, so I point him out to her. "That's just Kevin" she tells me. She has accepted this wild animal with a calm grace, and without reservation. This is a revelation for me. Could she accept the animal that lives inside me the same way?

I was called away to Miami. There was a minor problem that needed my attention. I could have handled it easily and been back in days, but I needed time to think. I had to think of a way to tell her what I was feeling without scaring her away. I don't know what I would have done if I bared my soul to her and she rejected it. I needed to make it work. I just needed time.

Then I got the call.

Tank is my friend. He is my right hand, and the one person I would easily trust with my life. We are brothers. He knows what I am thinking. He knows how I feel about her, even if I have only just started admitting it to myself.

"You need to come back here." Tank tells me. "That bastard waited until he knew you were out of town, and proposed to her."

"He's done that before." I remind him.

"Not like this." Tank informs me. "This was in public, with the ring you told her you would never give her."

Fuck. I hang up on Tank and contemplate throwing my phone into the ocean. I have to get back to her. I have to tell her. I have to make her understand. I am ready to run to the airport. I stop. A vicious pain stabs through my heart. I can't do it. I have to let her make her own decision. I can't stop her from being who she wants to be. I can't go back.

I have to give her time. I make a promise to myself to let her have a week. Even though I am in a city filled with warm sunlight and beautiful people, I can see no one but her. At the end of the week, I am still ready to run to her. I still can't do it. I will give her one more week.

I have pushed myself beyond my own limits. It is time to go home. I need to assess the wreckage of my life, and see if there are any pieces left to be picked up. It is Friday, two weeks since I got the call. I leave the airport for the familiar comfort of my Porsche. Even my car holds memories of her. I race home in an effort to find her, but she has not yet gotten back to her apartment. It is Friday, so she will be at her parents house, having dinner with her family. I let myself in. I am immediately surrounded by her. I am soothed by her presence, even when she is not here. I sit in the dark and wait for her.

There is a sound at her door. Suddenly it is opened, and I can see her. Tank has not told me everything. One look and I can tell she has not been taking care of herself. She has dark circles under her eyes, and has lost weight. She seems listless where before there was only exuberance. I know. I can tell by the way she moves that she has rejected the cop, but it has cost her dearly. I would gladly pay this price for her, too.

She walks into the living room, and is almost on top of me by the time she sees me. She yells at me. I have to help her. I need to see the woman I know she is. A last minute plan is forming in my mind. This has to work. I say the words that will either save us both or damn me forever.

"I need a date."


	2. Chapter 2 - My day at the beach

**This is my take on JE's world. All mistakes are mine. I get nothing from this but my own enjoyment. I can't describe how great if feels to get such positive feedback. Y'all are the best! Now lets go earn that M rating. Apparently Ranger is more willing to share details...**

I drove to Rangeman after she agreed to go to the beach tomorrow. I called my sister Celia and told her my plan. If she had refused to play along, I would call Maria. I would have called each one of my sisters, and if that didn't work, I would have picked a random stranger on the beach and followed them for the day. I needed to see her smile. Fortunately, Celia immediately agreed. "One thing, though. She doesn't know you're my sister. I told her that this was a job."

Celia laughed. "Carlos, she won't hear it from me, but you have to tell her sooner or later." Later was fine with me. I assured Celia that I would tell her, but for right now, she needed to be able to relax.

Beach clothes. I don't own beach clothes. For her, I will find something. Black cargo shorts, black tank top, black sandals and I am ready. An extra knife, because there is no way to hide an ankle holster. I get to her apartment at 9:00. I know I have chosen correctly. She bites her lips and her eyes wander the length of my body. I can feel myself respond to her. "Babe" I say and take her bag. I can tell by the weight of her bag that she has packed her gun and I smile. I am sure she packed that for me. She asks me what the plan is for the day, and I tell her we are going to Point Pleasant. This is her favorite beach, and the place she goes when she needs to find her happiness.

Celia takes advantage of the opportunity to get to know her better. She also takes advantage of the opportunity to poke a little fun at her baby brother. She has me buy fried food for lunch. She knows I would much rather eat healthy, but Celia suggests it, and Stephanie readily agrees. I enjoy watching her eat, so I will buy what they want. The girls play the arcade games, and the games of chance. We lay out on towels on the hot sand. Stephanie has stripped down to her bikini. I decide that I need to buy beach clothes.

We spent the entire day in Point Pleasant. We had dinner at a small seafood restaurant. Celia and Stephanie plot to go shopping tomorrow. Great. I know how I will be spending my day tomorrow. Still it is a small price to pay. She is relaxed. She is enjoying herself.

After dinner we walk Celia back to her car. Stephanie is almost too tired to stand. I settle her into the passenger seat of my car and walk around to the other side. There is an incoming message on my cell phone. It says, "WTG, Bro! Thumbs up! XD" I smile at Celia's message of approval. I head back to Trenton on dark highways. Stephanie yawns and thanks me for the day. She immediately falls asleep. I run a finger down her cheek and whisper, "Anytime."

When we made it back to her apartment, I was only going to make sure she was secure in her apartment. She looked beautiful, with her sleep tousled hair and bedroom eyes. She turned to me just as I reached out for her. She shivered at the contact, and I was lost. Her lips were soft and inviting. I was moving us towards her bedroom when her phone rang. Her best friend. The cop is moving on. She rests her head on my chest and sighs. She is still not over him. I lift her chin and see that the sadness has overtaken her eyes again. She tells me that there could never have been a happy ending for them. I cannot show her how happy this makes me. I ask her if she wants me to stay, and she says yes.

I spend the night wrapped around her, and awaken as the sun begins to peek over the horizon. She is still asleep, and will remain so for hours yet. The soft light of the morning coupled with the sense of peace I get from being with her brings out a side of me that I will never admit to. I am reminded of Shakespeare. "What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun." Stephanie is my sun. I go for a run and drive over to Rangeman to shower and change.

I still have not told her all that I need to. Today is not the day for that. Today I will take her shopping with my sister. Thinking of her love of food, I grab a couple of muffins to bring back to her apartment. As I am driving back, I can picture the look on her face when she sees what I have brought her. I make an impulsive stop at her favorite bakery and buy her what she really wants. When I get back to her apartment, I hide the evidence in her microwave and make a pot of coffee.

I am working on my laptop when she finally makes her way into the kitchen. I can see that she is surprised to find me here still. I hand her a cup of coffee, and she makes her way over to the plate of muffins I left on the counter. She selects a muffin and looks at it with her nose wrinkled in distaste. She holds it out to me and tells me that it needs more fat and processed sugar to be considered a meal.

**-Smut Warning-**

I walk to her. I take the muffin from her hand, as well as the rest of the plate and put them on the table. I crowd her into the counter and wrap my arms around her. "Was there something you wanted instead?" I ask as I lean in to kiss her. She tastes like coffee and Stephanie, and I know I will not stop at one kiss. I pick her up easily and set her down on her counter. Her lips are swollen from our kiss. I put my hands on her knees and run them up her thighs. My fingertips brush her where I most want to be, but I continue on my path. As my hands begin to move under the hem of her tank top, I trail a line of kisses along her jaw, down her neck, and across her collarbone. My hands span her ribcage, and my thumbs rub the undersides of her breasts. She moans softly. I kiss her hardened nipple through the cotton of her shirt and look at her. "Tell me you want this," I say to her. This must be her choice.

She says the word that I need to hear. "Yes." I kiss her again and pull her shirt off her body. She has perfect breasts. I taste her skin as I move lower. I kiss a trail down her stomach and softly bite the skin at her belly button as I remove her panties. I pull back to look at her. She is glorious. She is mine. I nibble and then kiss the inside of her knee. I lick her along her thigh as I pull her closer to the edge of the counter. I run my thumbs along the crease of her thighs, and she moans louder. She is wet and ready for me. I grasp her hips and taste heaven. She says my name and grabs my hair so that I won't stop. I can't stop until she is screaming her release.

When she stops writhing, I kiss my way back up her body. When I get back to her neck, she peels off my shirt and runs her hands along the muscles of my arms and back. I want her so much it is almost painful. I kiss her with every bit of the passion that is still building inside me. "Tell me you want me," I say to her. It is unbearable to think of pulling away from her now, but I will if she wants me to. She runs her hand through my hair and looks into my eyes.

She whispers. "I want you, Ranger." I pick her up off of the counter and she wraps her legs around me. I carry her back to the bedroom and lay her on the bed. I remove my pants, and cover her body with mine. Neither of us can wait any longer. She runs her hand down my length. "I need you," she pleads. I guide myself into her heat and stop, revelling in the feel of being joined with her. Once again she wraps her legs around me and moans. "Oh, god. Fuck me, Ranger!"

My control shreds. Our pace is furious. I can think of nothing more than taking her over the edge again, so that I can fall with her. Her nails score my back. I can see that she is almost there for me again. I change my angle. This is all she needs. She is once again screaming her release, only this time I Shout her name as I find my release with her.

**-End Smut Warning-**

By the time we made it back to the kitchen, there are only a few minutes to pack up my laptop before we have to leave. Stephanie is again making a face at the plate of muffins. "Look in the microwave, babe." She squeals with delight at the gift I have given her.

We arrive at the mall on time, and I am treated to another surprise. Celia has brought my sister Maria with her. She introduces her to Stephanie as her cousin. This can not be good. We walk into Macy's and the girls all head straight towards the shoes. This is going to be painful. We leave the first store, and I scan my surroundings. There is no threat, but I am always aware. Across the way, I see my other sisters, Elena and Ramona, sitting at a table, enjoying some coffee. I know it is no coincidence that they are here. They have all come to see her. After what seems like an eternity of purses and makeup and more shoes, we have arrived at Starbucks. Celia and Maria lead Stephanie to the table next to my other sisters, and seat her so that her back is to the other two. Elena and Ramona each smile and also give the thumbs up. I wonder if it is too late to be an only child.

When we get to the lower level, the girls turn towards Victoria's Secret. I can hear my sisters giggling ahead of me. Stephanie had joined in the laughter. She looks at me, and I can guess what they have been talking about. I picture Stephanie in black lace. I picture myself taking her out of black lace. I picture her wearing nothing more than those wings they put the models in. I need to stop, or we'll never make it out of the mall. My sisters walk into another small store and I pull Stephanie aside. My offer to take her shopping for lingerie is met with a furious blush.

Finally, everyone is finished shopping and we walk out to the cars. We say goodbye to my sisters and get in the Turbo to head home. Just as I finish securing her apartment, there is a text from Celia. "Don't B L8 4 dinner!" I kiss Stephanie and tell her I will see her later.


	3. Chapter 3 Home is

_**This is JE's world, I just borrowed the characters for a while. All mistakes are mine. Events in this chapter fall between the end of chapter 6, and the middle of chapter 8 of my other story, I need a date, told from Ranger's POV**_

Family dinner is held at my parents house every Sunday night. I only go one Sunday a month. I love my family, and look forward to seeing them, but family dinners are very chaotic in the Manoso home. I have four sisters and a brother. They have too many children among them, ranging in age from 15 to 9 months. There is a lot of love in my parents house, but there is also a lot of yelling.

My sisters start as soon as I walk in the door. "Carlos, she's wonderful!" "Carlos, she's beautiful!" "Carlos, she's a keeper!" "Carlos, I've never seen you so happy!" I can tell that this is going to be a long night. My mother walks into the room and shoos all the girls away from me. She reaches up to give her wayward son a hug. "It is good to see you, hijo. Come inside. Dinner will be ready soon, and the girls are too excited to wait much longer." I know she is right.

My sisters chatter excitedly through the meal. I am bombarded with questions about Stephanie. I tell them that she has been in a long term relationship, which had just ended. I tell them about how she had put herself at risk to save Julie. I tell them about how she blew up my Porsche and a garbage truck rolled over onto it. My sisters love the fact that she is like a force of nature, and has steamrolled right over me.

My abuela takes my hand and looks straight into my eyes. "Does she make you happy, Carlos?" All other conversation stops at the table while they wait to hear my answer.

"Yes, grandmother, she does." I can hear my sisters sigh in that way all girls do.

My grandmother smiles and nods. She has seen the truth of it in my eyes. "Then don't wait too long to tell her, Carlos."

"I won't."

After dinner, I cornered Celia. "What were you thinking?"

She had the decency to look contrite. "I'm sorry, Carlos. I just wanted everyone to see how you two belong together. She really does make you happier than I've ever seen you." She put her arm over my shoulder. "Besides, none of us have ever really gotten to tease you over a girl since you were 12. Did you really think we would pass up the chance to see someone you were serious about?"

It is late when I leave my parents house. In the past, I would have just gone to my home here in Newark. I suppose that this would be the place she refers to as the Batcave. No one knows where this house is. It is the place where I used to go for peace. It is no longer as appealing as a small apartment in Trenton. She has become my peace. I drive back to Trenton to be closer to her.

It was business as usual on Monday morning at Rangeman. I was sitting in my office going over some paperwork when Tank walked past my door chuckling. I called out to him to see what was going on. Only one person could make any of my men laugh like that.

"Just heard a call go out over the police band." Tank leaned against my door frame. "Apparently there's a food fight at the diner over on Broad. Wanna guess who we think is right in the middle of it?" Tank walks away, still chuckling.

I bring up the program on my computer that tracks Rangeman vehicles. There is no need to guess. Her car is parked right in their lot.

I give her sufficient time to go to the police station with whoever she has picked up this time, and head over to the bail bonds office.. As I expected, she is covered in food from head to toe. I have to fight the urge to see for myself just how slippery she is. I walk up behind her. I know that she is aware by now that I am behind her. I put my hand on her waist and inhale the scent of blueberry pie and babe. I am immediately turned on. "You smell great, but blue is not a good color for your hair." I lean past her to pick up some files from Connie, and invite her outside for a chat. I have no doubt that she will follow.

I am treated to the sight of her walking around the side of the building. She is a mess, but I don't see it. I see her, and I hunger. I have to touch her. I pick some of the coleslaw out of her cleavage. I want her even more. She asks me how I know just when to show up, and I tell her the truth. She asks if I want something or if I just came for a laugh. I can't tell her what I want at that moment. What I really want is to take her against the wall of the bonds office. Then I want to take her back to my apartment and take her again in my shower. I want to wrap myself around her and bury myself in her. She would not understand this. I make up some story about wanting her to come look at a security system, and invite her to dinner. When she agrees, I kiss her thoroughly. "You taste good too, babe."

When I get back to Rangeman, I look for the files my real estate agent sent over. I have been thinking about selling my house in Newark, and buying one in Trenton. My agent knows that I can afford whatever I want, so he doesn't have any problem sending me whatever I need, including photos and blueprints of prospective homes. I select one that will do nicely. It is one of the larger homes that are available, and is currently unoccupied. A call to my agent, and the way is cleared for me to bring her there to look at it alone tonight.

She is walking out of the elevator just as I arrive from the stairwell, and I follow her inside. Ella, my aunt as well as my housekeeper, has already brought dinner up. We sit down at the dining room table to eat.

Eating a meal with her is an experience not to be missed. She is passionate about many things, but food is one of her favorites. She takes a bite of her meal, and moans in obvious pleasure. The sound goes straight through me, and I have to put my fork down. I have heard this sound come from her before. I am immediately brought back to yesterday morning. I can remember the feel of her wrapped around me as she made those sounds for me. She looks up from her dish and blushes furiously. I wonder what would happen if she knew what I was thinking. Would she blush brighter? Or would she come to me, and let me bring that pleasure to her again.

After dinner, I take her to my office and show her the plans for the house. I make up some story about it belonging to a client, and I watch her as she looks through the pictures. I call tell that she thinks the house is beautiful. Even when she isn't saying what she thinks out loud, her expressions are always right on her face. I love this about her.

We drive out to the property to take a look. It is a large colonial, and looks as good in person as it does in the pictures. We wander around the house, and I take notes of what changes she would make. We made our way into the master bedroom. I can tell by the look in her eyes that she is imagining it furnished and complete. She stops at the spot where I imagine the bed would be, and gets a dreamy look in her eyes. I am rocked by a vision of the two of us making love in a four poster bed made of dark carved walnut. The spell was broken when she sighed. I looked at her and she opened her eyes. I could see forever in them. "Do you need a minute, babe?" I ask, and the spell is broken for her, too.

We left the house and walked out into the warm summer night. On an impulse, I took her hand as we made our way around the grounds. When we got to the gazebo, I took her in my arms and kissed her. I could see our future in this house and it shook me to the core. I could see us standing here in the gazebo on a bright sunny day. My family and hers had come to visit, and the lawns were filled with children running around and laughing. I could see the child that Stephanie and I had made giggle as one of her nieces picked her up from where she had fallen in the grass. I could also see Stephanie with another child that we had made growing inside her. It scared me, and I broke the kiss. I leaned my forehead against hers, and took a minute to clear my head. I traced her lips with my fingertips, and managed to croak out, "We need to leave here."

We rode back to Rangeman in silence. We were both lost in our own thoughts. When we got back, she declined my offer to come upstairs.


	4. Chapter 4 - words of advice

_**This is JE's world, I just borrowed the characters for a while. All mistakes are mine. **_

By Friday, I was climbing the walls. I had to see her again. She is my addiction. I went down to the gym to work out some of my frustration. Lester and Bobby were down there working out, but left shortly after I arrived. They probably sensed my mood. After about an hour of beating the crap out of a sandbag, I went to one of the treadmills to run. I had been running for about a half hour when Tank climbed onto the treadmill next to me.

"Yo," tank said in greeting.

I didn't want to get out of my own head, but answered anyway. "S'up?"

Tank assessed my mood as he started to run next to me. "For fuck's sake, bro, talk to her."

I stopped my treadmill, and walked around the gym. "And tell her what?" I asked. Tank had stopped his treadmill and was standing there, looking at me. "Tell her I love her? Tell her that if she ever decides to have children that I want them to be mine? I told her my kind of love came with a condom, not a ring. What the fuck was I thinking?" I sat down on one of the weight benches and hung my head in my hands.

Tank sat down on the bench next to mine. "Then don't tell her anything. Eventually she'll get tired of your crap, and it won't be a problem." I really wanted to throw a punch. He'd fight me, and with my head this far up my ass, there's a small chance that he could take me. I didn't say anything. I didn't need to. Tank knew. "It doesn't have to be all or nothing right out of the gate." Tank doesn't talk often, but when he does, he makes a lot of sense. "Ask her on a date. She loves food. Take her to Victor's. Tell her you want to have a serious relationship with her. No more of this dicking around. You don't have confess your undying love, but you've got to do something." He got up and walked back to his treadmill. "Of course, you could just keep going the way you are. If you do keep this up, in another week or two, I should be able to take you down." With that, he began running again.

I went back up to 7 and grabbed a beer. I walked into my office, and thought about what Tank had said. Tank was right. I opened the tracker program. She was at her parents house. Today is not the day, but I cannot wait any longer. I will tell her tomorrow. I shoot Tank an email telling him I will be offline tomorrow night. I add a personal note at the bottom. "The next time you get up in my shit, I WILL take you down."

I know that Saturday is a half day at the bonds office, so I waited until she stopped at Cluck-in-a-Bucket to call her. She offered to pick me up lunch, and I told her I would meet her at her apartment. We both arrived at the same time, so I took the lunch bags from her. I peeked inside. The salad she got me looked like a plate of chicken nuggets with a little lettuce thrown in for humor. I must have actually shown some of what I was thinking, because she laughed and walked towards the door.

When she opened her door, there was a note. It looked like it had been shoved under the door. She opened it. Someone took the time to cut out a whole bunch of words from a newspaper, and glued them together in a threatening note. This was not her first stalker. She told me about the old man whom she had recently picked up as an FTA. I used the opportunity to ask her to stay with me, but she declined.

That would have been too easy. I once told her that I would take advantage of any opening she gave me. She told me she would try to keep her openings closed.

I stood to leave, and pulled her to me. It was now or never. I couldn't make the words come, so I kissed her. When I pulled back, I could see that her eyes were starting to dilate. "Come have dinner with me tonight. I'll pick you up at 8:00." This was by no means the smoothest pickup line I have ever used, but she agreed. I was so relieved, I kissed her again. This was a mistake. As soon as our tongues touched, the same need I always have for her roared to life.

I picked her up so that I could feel her core through her jeans. She wrapped her legs around me and pressed her breasts into my chest. I love the way she feels when she is so close to me. I moved so that her back was pressed into the door, and I could wrap one of my hands in her hair. I pulled her head back so that I could take full possession of her mouth.

I was out of control. I forced myself to stop. Breathing heavily, and still supporting her weight, I rested my forehead against her door. My only hope of stopping was to have her say no. "Tell me to leave." I started to nibble on her ear.

**- smut warning -**

"No." She rubbed her body against mine. She put her hand in my hair and pulled me back so that there was a whisper of space between us. "I won't let you go." she reached between us and undid the top button of my pants. I couldn't take it anymore. I grabbed her by her hips and thrust myself against her. When I set her on her feet, she moaned at the loss of heat.

I took off her shirt and pulled her breasts into my mouth one at a time. She reached out to tangle her hands in my hair, but I needed to set the pace for her. I stood back up and pressed my body against the length of hers. I kissed her deeply and pinned her hands above her head. She was as eager as I was. The sound of her pleasure was music to my ears. I pulled my own shirt off, so that I could feel the softness of her breasts against my chest. I held both of her wrists in one hand still, and I used the other to loosen her jeans. I worked them down her hips by reaching in and sliding my hand over her magnificent ass, then I moved to the front, where I could feel how wet she was for me. I ran my finger along her folds, and sank into her heat. She quickly fell into her first orgasm.

When she was spent, I released her hands and removed the rest of our clothes. Holding one of her knees, I slid inside her while she leaned against the door. She is perfect. We fit together like two halves of a whole. I slowly start to move inside her, savoring the feel of her. Her next orgasm grips her and almost overwhelms me as well. Wanting more, I pick her up and carry her to the couch. Before I could set her down on the cushions, she turned around and leaned over, locking her arms on the back of the couch and spreading her legs wide. She arched her back, and leaned down, exposing herself to me. I filled her again.

She gripped me tightly as I moved inside her once more. I ran my hands from her hips up her back. I slid one hand into her hair as I leaned over her to tease her nipple. When I nipped her shoulder, she screamed my name again as she came. The feel of her walls clenching me that tightly was too much for me. I grabbed her hips and followed her home.

**- end smut warning -**

When we were finished, she didn't sit down on her couch so much as flop over onto it. I knelt down next to her and gave her another kiss. I told her I would pick her up at 8. She threw her clothes on and walked me to the door.

I always wait for her to lock her door before I leave. This time, when I heard the familiar tumble of locks, I also thought I heard her muffled voice say, "I should have this door bronzed after that." I walked to my car with a very masculine smirk on my face.

I got back to her apartment at 8:00. When I walked in, I stopped and stared. She was wearing a traffic stopping red dress that clung to her in all the right places and sky high black heels. I wanted nothing more than to take her into the bedroom and see what she was wearing underneath. From the heat in her eyes, she was probably thinking the same thing. Unfortunately for us both, we needed to talk, and that wouldn't happen unless we got out of here. "Babe," I told her, "You look edible."

The drive to Newark was uneventful. When we walked in the door at Victor's, my grandmother was sitting at the hostess stand. It was when I saw her face light up that I realized my mistake. Damn. She doesn't know that this is my parents restaurant. Tank had planted the suggestion in my head, and I didn't even think about the fact that they would all be here on a Saturday night.

Fortunately, my grandmother doesn't speak much English, and Stephanie doesn't speak any Spanish. I asked my grandmother to tell my mother that we were there for a low key dinner. She must have caught how uncomfortable I was, because she agreed. She kissed Stephanie's cheek and welcomed her to Victor's. Stephanie was looking a little slack-jawed. She held her hand out across the table. "Hi, I'm Stephanie Plum. Who are you, and What did you do with Ranger?" I took her hand and told her that I grew up around here, and had known her forever. This was true enough.

My mother brought several of my favorite dishes to the table and introduced herself to Stephanie. I explained the dishes to her as she ate with her usual enjoyment. After we finished our meal and started to leave, my grandmother kissed us both on our cheeks, and told me, "It's good to see you happy."

After dinner, I took her to Liberty State Park, and we sat on a bench facing the New York City skyline. This is it. This is the moment I have both anticipated and dreaded. I start by telling her about my epiphany. She looks so uncertain and vulnerable. I finally get to the heart of where I was going. "I want to give us a chance, and I'm willing to do what I need to in order for that to happen."

She is openly crying now. Shit. This is not going the way I want it to. I was about to say something, anything to get her to stop crying, when she kissed me. When she pulled away, she set my world back in the right direction. "I'd like to try, too."

I kissed her. It was filled with the promise we had just made. When we pulled apart, she smiled at me. It was worth the price to see her look at me like that. As we were driving home, she asked me why I hadn't said something sooner. The incident with the Giraffe was now more than a month behind us, and the cop had seriously proposed. I told her I had trouble with talking about feelings. She snorted. If she only knew half of what I had put myself through this past month, she probably wouldn't be laughing. Still, I can understand her point of view. I had gotten far too close to losing her than I will ever care to admit, and it was my own damn fault.

When we got back to her apartment, she slid my jacket off my shoulders and leaned into me. Her smile held the barest hint of what we would be doing. "I've been waiting all night to get you out of these clothes."

I let my jacket fall to the floor and tucked one of her curls behind her ear. "Babe, we're on the same page."


	5. Chapter 5 - Another one bites the dust

**All the characters you know and love come from Janet Evanovich. All mistakes are, unfortunately, mine. Thank you all so much for the reviews. I love reading them! Margaret, your reviews always make me smile!**

I was in my office at lunchtime when I got a call from the control room. "Bomber's off the grid again," Ram informed me. I called her, and she answered immediately. She seemed surprised when I told her she was off the grid, and then I heard a commotion on her end of the line.

"I'm fine," she told me. "Apparently, my car decided to burn without me this time." She told me that she would call when she knew more, and we disconnected. Even though I knew she was fine, I still had to see for myself that she was unharmed. We go through this every time one of her vehicles blows up. I called Tank and told him to pick me up at the bonds office in 20.

I had bought a new Acura MDX for her. It is a larger SUV than she would pick for herself, the safest in its class, and it is fully loaded. I had parked it in a back corner of my garage a few days ago, where it waited until she needed it. Even though she goes through cars with frightening regularity, I like to give them to her.

I drove the Acura over and parked it at the bonds office. Then I walked to the market that was surrounded by cops and fire trucks. I saw Carl Costanza standing a little off to the side, and walked over to him. Stephanie has known him for years, and considers him a friend. I consider him a good cop who is easy to work with, so I asked him what the deal was.

"As far as I can tell, Steph decided my summer hasn't been interesting enough," he told me. "I haven't been able to get near the car yet, and Big Dog's taking statements. One of the firemen gave me a note that was on the ground near the car, though. It said 'Being dead stinks', so you may want to warn her that she has another crazy out there after her." I thanked him, and started over to where I had seen her sitting.

She wasn't alone anymore. Morelli was sitting next to her. He must have just gotten there. I kept walking toward their location, but decided to remain out of sight. I heard Stephanie tell him, "I'm not your girlfriend anymore." and let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. I stayed out of sight, but got close enough to hear what they were saying. If he upset her, I'd beat the crap out of him later. We've fought before, and I knew I could take him easily as long as Steph doesn't stun us both.

He told her that he was seeing someone. She seemed relieved at the news. Then she told him that she was seeing someone as well. He asked her if I knew. She went still. I have seen her like that before, and knew that the shit had just hit the fan. If I was closer, I could probably see the fire in her eyes. Morelli was on his own. They weren't yelling at each other, but I could see that it was only a matter of time. Finally he stormed off. She just sat there looking at her shoes and fighting the tears. I stepped into her line of sight. She had such a look of relief on her face, that I pulled her into a hug.

We walked towards the bonds office, and I told her about the note. She turned back towards her car, and I could see her get her mad back. She promised to kick her skip's ass into next week. I had to smile at that. That's my babe. I love to see her riled up and ready to fight back.

I pulled her around the side of the bonds office, and showed her how glad I was that she was ok. I hand her the keys to the car, then I give her the bad news. I have to leave town for a few days, so I invite her to dinner tonight. She asks if I am trying to get out of dinner with her parents. I promise to be back, and we agree to meet at 6 for dinner.

When I was almost back to my building, my phone rang. It was Morelli. I had expected this call. "Shorty's, 20 minutes." When he agreed, I hung up. Tank asked if I wanted backup. I told him to bail me out if I wasn't back in an hour.

Shorty's is a block from my building, so it's not unusual to see my men here on their days off. When I walked in the door, Cal was at the bar waiting for his lunch. He raised an eyebrow in question. I nodded at the door as I took my usual corner table. Cal got his food to go and walked out the door just as Morelli was walking in.

He got straight to the point. "Didn't waste any time, did you? Or have you been fucking her since Hawaii?"

I leaned forward. "Talk about her like that again, and we're going to have a problem." This was the only warning I was willing to give him. "She deserves better than that."

Morelli blew out a breath. "Fuck you, too. If it wasn't for you, she'd be home picking out bridesmaids dresses. I should sweet talk her into coming over one night. Let you wonder for a change if she's fucking me behind your back. Let you see how it feels, you bastard. You don't deserve her." This hits me close to home, but I refuse to show any reaction to this prick. I arch my eyebrow as if to tell him that once a woman has been with me, there was no way he could hold onto her.

The cop was starting to draw attention. Just like Pino's is a cop hangout, Shorty's is Rangeman territory. None of my men are here right now, but I have no doubt word will get back to them if this isn't stopped now.

"I agree. I don't deserve her." I told him honestly. "But she wants me, and I'm keeping her. I'm done sending her away. You've got someone new, let her go." I'm not about to tell him how many times I've sent her back to him. If he was fool enough to lose her, that's his fault.

Morelli seemed almost melancholy at that moment. "There's no one else like her." That I could agree with. Stephanie is one of a kind. After that brief admission, he seemed to remember who he was talking to. "Fuck you, Ranger." He pushed away from the table and left. That went better than I had expected it to.

I decided to work from my apartment for the rest of the afternoon. I refused to admit, even to myself, that what Morelli said bothered me. Ella came up at 5:30, and left dinner in the kitchen. Just before 6, I heard her come in.

I was still on the phone when she walked in and leaned against the door frame. I looked up at her, and I was once again struck by how beautiful she is. She had a 'just rolled out of bed' look that made me want her all the time. I finished my call and sauntered over to where she was standing.

"You look rested," I told her as I kissed the corner of her mouth. I want her more than I did a minute age. I told her that Ella has been up with dinner, but that it can wait. She smiled and ran her hand along my chest as she walked towards my desk.

She perched on the corner of my desk and crossed her legs. She leaned back and smiled at me, running her foot up along her calf for effect. When she said, "Did you ever wonder just how clichés became clichés?" I knew we wouldn't be eating dinner until much later. The way she stroked her hand across the desk was designed to make me think of her stroking me, and it worked.

I walked up to her and she sat up straighter, so that I was standing between her knees. I put my hands on her thighs and leaned in to catch her scent. She put her hands on my chest, then ran them up my shoulders and around my neck, until they were tangled in my hair. She whispered, "How was your day, dear?". I grabbed her by the waist, said, "Getting better by the minute", and kissed her.

**- SMUT WARNING -**

She stood and stretched against me as we kissed. She turned us so that I had my back to the desk, and nudged until our positions were reversed. She unbuttoned my shirt and slid it off me. I savored the feel of her exploring my skin. She unbuttoned my pants, and started to explore with her mouth as well as her hands. She knelt before me and slid my pants off.

The sight of her on her knees looking up at me with lust in those blue eyes was almost my undoing. I reached to pull her up so that I could bury myself inside her, but she took my hands and pressed them onto the desk. She nipped the inside of my thigh and then kissed it, still holding my hands in hers.

She gave my hands one final squeeze, and spread her palms across my thighs. When she took me into her mouth, I threw my head back. I could feel her moving like silk over me, using her tongue at the tip until I thought I would explode. The perfect combination of hands and mouth were almost too much to bear. When she took me down her throat, I closed my eyes, lost in her. Her mouth is a miracle.

I brought her to her feet before the night came to an abrupt end. I removed her clothes, and carried her around the desk. I sat in my chair with her in my lap, the leather cool against my back.

Stephanie put her arms around me and smiled. "Mr. Manoso, I don't think this is part of my job description." I pushed the desk blotter, with its calendar and pen set, off the desk and onto the floor. She giggled as I set her on the desk in front of me.

I put her legs on my shoulders and trailed kisses down the inside of her thighs. "Consider this your benefits package." I opened her to me. I ran my tongue along her core and sucked her sensitive bud into my mouth. I can never get enough of the taste of her. I returned the pleasure she had given me back to her, using hands and mouth to show her how good she made me feel. It didn't take long before she was writhing with her release.

I pulled her off the desk and back onto my lap. This time, she straddled the chair so that we were as close to each other as we could get. She raised herself up and guided me into her. Holding the back of my chair, she began to ride me slowly. I tell her, "You feel so fucking good," as I pull her nipple into my mouth. This is the sweetest torture I have ever endured, but I am determined to see to her pleasure.

When I feel her start to clench around me, I stand and once again set her on the desk. This time I had remained sheathed inside her. She propped herself up on her elbows and looks down to where we are still joined. Her hair is plastered to her head, and her body is slick with our combined sweat. She looks perfect. Slowly she raises her eyes until they are locked with mine, and she tells me, "I love the way you feel inside me."

She is everything to me. I make love to her on my desk until we are both completed.

**- END SMUT WARNING -**

We ate dinner and she told me about having lunch with her mother. It seemed as though her mother was more accepting of our relationship than she had thought. This is a good thing. I don't want to hurt her relationship with her family. As I brought out the dessert Ella has made for her, I told her that my mother would like us to come to dinner next week. She is the only woman whom I have ever wanted to introduce to my family. She agreed, but had a look in her eyes that said she was going to pump them for information. I was about to ask her what she was thinking when she used her spoon to swipe a bit of her yogurt onto my jaw. I jerked in surprise, which quickly morphed into lust as she reached over and sucked it back off. I returned the favor by tracing my own spoon over the swell of her breasts. I could feel her breathing get heavier as I slowly licked the yogurt concoction from her skin.

I stood slowly. I had my parfait glass and spoon in one hand, while I reached out for her with my other. "Are you ready for more, babe?" She came to me, and together, we walked into the bedroom.


	6. Chapter 6 -The long and winding road

**All characters belong to Janet Evanovich. All mistakes belong to me. All kudos belong to you. Thank you for your encouragement and support!**

******Side note - I live very close to a military base. When I went to Taco Bell this morning, There was a Mountain of a man standing at parade rest at the counter. I couldn't help but think, "OMG, what is Tank doing at Taco Bell?!"**

I woke up on Tuesday morning with her sleeping curled up around me. I kissed her gently and got up to shower and pack. If I leave early enough, I should be able to avoid rush hour traffic on the 5 hour drive to Boston. When I am ready to go, I stop in the bedroom for one last look at her. I find her awake. She is beautiful. She sits up as I walk to her. The sheet pools at her waist, exposing her breasts to me. I sit next to her on the bed. She puts her arms around me and kisses me deeply. She is warm and so easy to touch. Even though I am ready to go, I find that I can not leave.

We made love slowly and tenderly. We shared a gentle exploration of bodies. Stephanie is a wonder to me. Her capacity to give is amazing to me. Unfortunately our time is short, and I have to leave. Stephanie walks to the door with me to say goodbye. She wears nothing but one of my shirts. I once again offer her the use of my apartment, and tell her I am sending Hal with her today. She kissed me one more time before telling me she'll miss me.

The business of running a business is tedious at best. Fortunately enough for me, I have employees that I trust to handle day to day operations. I arrived at my Boston office in the early afternoon, and spent the rest of the day closed in with my manager going over operations, evaluations, and all of the minor details of my business. Tomorrow I will be in meetings all day, and I am not looking forward to it. By the time I am finished and sitting in one of the spare apartments, I am tired. I think of Stephanie complaining about how her ass goes numb every time she spends the day in the office doing searches.

I wonder idly if she stayed at my apartment, but I know she did not. She is fiercely independent sometimes, and I wouldn't change that about her. I like the thought of her being there, though. I would share that with her easily. I can't stop thinking about her. Before I can talk myself out of it, I pick up the phone and call her. I am rewarded with a sleepy "Yo", that makes me smile. She tells me that she's keeping the streets of Trenton safe while I'm away. We talk about little, unimportant things, and I can picture her smile on the other end. I assure her that I will be home Thursday afternoon and we say goodnight.

My day on Wednesday went about as well as it could, and pretty much exactly as I had expected it to. It seemed as though I went straight from one meeting to another. I thought about calling her when I got back to the apartment, but my dinner meeting had gone much longer than I had expected it to, and it was too late now.

I walked toward the bedroom, but sleep held no appeal for me. The bed was empty. I wished that I had walked in there to find her sleeping peacefully, but she wasn't here. I went to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water, and found myself looking in the refrigerator for a half eaten birthday cake. Fuck it. If I pack now, I can be home by 3.

The drive is long and tedious, but nothing is as welcome as the sight of her apartment building. I am glad I decided to drive home tonight. I let myself into her apartment. In the past I would sit in the chair by her bed and watch her sleep. I would watch and wonder what it would be like to come home to her every night. I would wonder what it would feel like to wake up with her every morning. Sometimes I would just sit and watch her sleep. Sometimes just seeing for myself that she was safe is enough. Tonight I strip down and climb into bed with her. I wrap myself around her and am instantly asleep.

I can feel when she wakes. She is facing away from me, but I know her. She stretches a little, then snuggles in a little closer, and tells me that I have to leave because her boyfriend is due back today and that he's a total badass. If I were her, I would roll my eyes and snort at that comment. Instead, I turn her toward me, and kiss her hello.

I wasn't supposed to be back in the area until this afternoon, so Stephanie and I spent the morning together. We made love, then we talked, then we made love again. I doubt I will ever get enough of her. Later we ate breakfast together. Stephanie asked me if I wanted to cancel dinner at her parent's house tomorrow night. I told her not to worry, that I would pick her up at 5:30.

I have been to dinner at Stephanie's parent's house before, and I can certainly say it's been interesting. Her grandmother once asked me if it was true that Rangers got dogs pregnant. The reaction of her entire family had made the question worthwhile. If I thought about it, though, I did get Rachel pregnant while I was a Ranger. It could be argued that her question wasn't too far out in left field. I have also heard her tales of the table getting set on fire, her grandmother shooting the roast chicken, and her very pregnant sister telling her she'd rather marry me than Albert.

Then there's her family members. I know that her mother disapproves of me. This comes as no surprise to me. I don't exactly project the 'I want to get married, have 2.4 children, and live happily ever after in a house with a white picket fence' aura. Her father ignores me, but I don't mind that. He ignores everybody. He listens more than he talks and I can respect that. Her grandmother has spent every opportunity she's had trying to cop a feel. It would be funny if I wasn't more than a little creeped out at the thought of her hands getting anywhere near me.

When I get to Stephanie's apartment that evening, she is a bundle of nerves. She apologizes in advance for anything that happens. She's cute when she's worried. I kiss her because I can't help but kiss her, and we leave for her parents house.

When we pulled up, we were greeted by the sight of her mother and grandmother standing by the front door waiting for us. Her mother seems overly enthusiastic. It is almost as if she is as nervous as Stephanie was earlier. She graciously accepts the bottle of wine I brought for her, and ushers us into the dining room. Stephanie's father is in his easy chair, and nods a greeting. I sit and watch the women bustle back and forth between the kitchen and dining room, noting the similarities and differences between all three women.

Even though all three women have similar facial features, Stephanie's mother almost seems like an old encyclopedia sandwiched between two Technicolor bookends. I wonder if Helen is frustrated by both her mother and daughter because they stand out so much. Stephanie's grandmother obviously loves her daughter, but Stephanie is the apple of her eye. My observations are cut short when everyone is seated at the table. Meals at the Plum house are usually quiet affairs in the beginning. Everyone is too busy eating to talk. Eventually, though, her Grandma takes a sip of her wine, looks at me, and says, "I bet you have a big gun." Stephanie almost chokes on the food she's eating, and her mother is clearly embarrassed. If it were anyone else, I would assume she was referring to my firearm, but judging by the laughter in her eyes, she meant the double entendre. It is all too easy to see where Stephanie gets her spark.

Stephanie's mother asks questions about what I do. I can understand this. I have older sisters and remember my own mother trying to make sure that any potential suitor would be able to take care of their daughter. Although we are in our 30's, I suppose a mother will always be a mother. Stephanie looks mortified, which is how my sisters looked, as well. I assured her in my own way that I would be able to provide for Stephanie, which seemed to settle the matter for her mother.

The rest of the dinner conversation was fairly innocuous, although her grandmother did ask me if I had any uncles, because she was thinking about getting a Latin lover. I smiled when I heard her father mutter under his breath that her last Latin lover spoke Latin as his first language.

After dessert, her mother sent us on our way with a bag of leftovers for Stephanie. We went back to her apartment, and I went in to the living room while she put the leftovers away. She was pleased that there were no major catastrophes. I found a boxing match on tv, and Stephanie curled up next me on the couch. We fooled around between rounds. When the match was over, she turned to me, looked into my eyes, and said, "I love you, Ranger."

It seemed like the world stopped. I realized that this was the first time she had said those words to me. I didn't even realize how much I had wanted to hear them. I knew how she felt about me. I have even said those words to her, but I always qualified it with stupid things like, 'in my own way'. Hearing them spoken by her and seeing the truth of them in her eyes was everything that I needed, but didn't even know I wanted. I held her tight. I asked her to say it again. The second time she said, "I love you, Carlos." It sounded right.

I kissed her with all the passion I felt. I looked into her eyes and shared the emotion of the moment with her. "I love you too, Stephanie."


	7. Chapter 7 - Fly me to the moon

**Again, all characters belong to JE, but it's fun to take them out and play with them sometimes. All mistakes are mine. Thank you all so much for the reviews! This is a short one, I'll post more soon. :-)**

The next morning, I left her apartment after agreeing to dinner at Rangeman that night. I drove back to my own apartment with a plan forming in my mind. When I got to the building, I called Ella and discussed the menu I had in mind. I talked to Luis, Ella's husband, and made sure that everything was in order. I wanted to do something special for her after the gift she had given me last night.

After everything was set, I spent some time catching up on paperwork. Midway through the day, I gave up and went to help Luis upstairs. He has spent years building and maintaining a rooftop garden. He and Ella often spend evenings up here in the summer. If I had to admit it, I enjoyed spending part of the day outside helping my uncle make sure everything was ready for tonight.

I went downstairs in time to shower and dress for dinner. When Stephanie arrived, I was in the kitchen pouring wine. She was wearing a blue dress that matched her eyes. I handed her one of the wineglasses and kissed her hello. I told her that I had a surprise for her, and led her back out the door. I could see she was confused when we walked to the stairs and started heading up. I opened the door to the roof for her. She took a step outside and stopped to take it in. We had taken the covers off of the wrought iron table and chairs earlier, and set it up to feel like a sidewalk cafe. Most of my afternoon with Luis was used setting up the fairy lights that were everywhere. Classical music was playing softly on the hidden speakers.

She turned to me, and I could tell that she was pleased. She told me that she had no idea that this was up here. I put my arms around her waist and kissed her ear. I explained to her about how Luis has built it, and led her to the table. Ella had prepared an elegant meal, maintaining the French theme we had decided on. After dinner, we walked over to the blanket that I had set up earlier. We sat and I fed her the poached pears with chocolate that Ella had made.

After dinner, we laid down on the blanket with her head on my shoulder and looked out at the stars. I was at peace. There was nothing I wouldn't do for her at this moment. I turned to her and asked, "If you could wish for anything right now, what would it be?"

She reached up and touched my face. I thought that she was searching for an answer. I would give her anything she asked for, but her answer surprised me. "I wish we could stay like this forever. When I'm with you, I don't worry about anything."

I'm not quite sure what she means. Is she worried about her job? Is she worried about me? I ask her to clarify. She tells me that she is worried she'll disappoint the people she loves. She worries about being a good mother if she decides to have children. She asks me if I ever worry. I once told her that I worry about everything, but I suppose she is looking for a more specific answer.

I tell her I worry about my men, and I worry about Julie. Then I tell her my absolute worst fear. "I worry that something will happen to you, and I won't be there." I don't know how I could survive without her. I tried to keep her out of my life for that reason. I had thought that if she wasn't with me, she would be safe. I learned the hard way that it didn't work like that. Now that we are together, I can't go back to being without her. I can't say that out loud, though.

The look in her eyes tells me that she already knows the rest. She tells me that I've always been there when she needed me. We kiss under the stars, and I hold on to her. I wish we could stay like this forever, too.


	8. Chapter 8 - The Cure

**Yet again, all characters belong to JE, but all the mistakes are mine. Thanks are to you for your kind words and support! Your positive reviews really keep me going!**

The next morning over breakfast, Stephanie tells me that she is worried that my family won't like her. How can she even think that? Everyone she meets loves her. Even if they hadn't already met her, they would love her simply because I do. I tell her that they already do.

She puts down her coffee cup and asks what I meant by that. By now there is a little blinking red light in the back of my head flashing "Warning", but I have no idea what it means. I remind her that Ella and Luis are my Aunt and Uncle, and that Hector is my cousin, but I can't remember if I ever told her that in the first place. Then I tell her that Celia was just helping me cheer her up when she says, "Wait a minute," and holds up her hand as if to stop me. By now the Warning light is blinking furiously, and there's an alarm bell ringing. "Celia is related to you?"

Shit. I forgot to tell her that. It shouldn't really be that big of a deal. I only had Celia come out to help cheer her up. I tell her Celia is my sister. I also let her know that Celia was the one that made the arrangements to go shopping and brought Maria along. She asks if Maria is another sister, and I can only nod. I also came clean about Ramona and Elena being there. I can see her getting madder and madder, but I don't know why. She asks if my brother was there dressed as mall security. I have no idea what she's talking about, and tell her that my brother is an accountant in Perth Amboy.

When she said, "Well, gee, at least there's someone besides your parents that I haven't met.", I slammed my blank face down. She knew, though. She is running out of mad, and is starting to cry.

I have no idea why she's this upset. Everybody likes her. I have no idea where this conversation started going wrong, but I'm going to need a topo map and a GPS to get it back on track. Everything I say seems to upset her more. When she says, "I need to leave.", a ball of ice forms in my stomach.

I stood by the door frozen until the elevator doors close. This can not be happening. I raced down the stairs, and waited for her by her car. I can't persuade her to come back upstairs and tell me what's wrong. I tell her I love her, and she cries harder. Finally she pulls herself together enough to drive away.

I am a wreck by the time I climb the stairs back up to 7. I don't know whether to be upset or pissed off. She always runs away from a conflict. I still don't understand what happened. I would never hurt her on purpose. One thing is certain, though. If she runs to Morelli, there will be no going back. I can not and will not accept that.

I walk to my office and turn on my computer. I have to see what she does. She is upset enough to go anywhere, and I am not certain that she won't get herself into trouble. I watch my screen as her car wanders around Trenton. Finally she stops. She is parked in front of her friend Mary Lou's house. It feels like I can breathe again. A few minutes later, her car goes straight to the liquor store, then straight to her apartment. I know that Mary Lou is with her, and they have gone to her place to drink.

As much as it pains me, I call Ella and ask her to come up. I am not used to feeling out of control. I need to fix this. I need to figure out what happened, and I need a woman's opinion for that.

Ella comes upstairs, and I explain what happened. "Oh, Carlos," She says. "Of course she's upset. When a girl is in love, meeting the man's family for the first time is a very important step in the relationship. A girl wants to make a good first impression, and I'm sure she did, but now when she meets them for the first time, they will have already met her. Don't let this come between you, Carlos. You love each other, and that's the most important thing."

I walked to Ella and gave her a hug. "Thank you, Aunt Ella. You are right as always." I kissed her on the cheek.

Ella laughed and kissed me back. "Of course I'm right. Now you can thank me by telling your mother that my flan is better than hers." There is no way I'm getting in the middle of that. The two of them have been arguing over who was the better cook since they were little girls.

After Ella left, I thought about what she said. I feel like an ass. I need to think of a way to make it up to her. I still don't like the fact that she left rather than tell me what was bothering her, but this is not unusual for her.

My apartment felt empty without her in it. I was watching TV at 11:30 when my phone rang. "Yo", I answered.

Stephanie breathed into the other end for a few seconds, then said, "I'm still mad at you." I laughed to myself. The late night drunk phone call. This could be very insightful. Hopefully, she'll forget about it by morning.

"I know, babe. I'm sorry."

"You should be, cause I'm mad at you. Can't stay mad, though. You're too damn sexy. Every time I see you, I want to jump you."

This time I did chuckle a little. "The feeling is mutual, babe."

She kept going. "If you were here, I'd jump you right now. Lick every inch of you. Even though I'm mad at you. Why aren't you here?"

I was starting to get hard. Even when she's completely wasted, she's irresistible. "I don't think that's a good idea right now."

"Sure it is. If you were here, I wouldn't be alone. I need you, Batman."

"What about Mary Lou?"

"Mary Lou doesn't need you, she has Lenny. She can't have you anyway, you're mine. You are mine, right?"

"Yes." I am hers. It is the simple truth.

"Oh, good. Then it's OK that I'm yours, too. I'm still mad at you, though. Why aren't you here?"

"Because you need to get some sleep." As soon as I say it, she yawns. "Goodnight, babe."

"G'night, Carlos. I love you." I will never get tired of hearing her say that. I hang up the phone and head to the bedroom. Falling asleep seems easier, now.

The next morning, I knew what I wanted to do for Stephanie. If I know her the way I think I do, she will have a monster hangover this morning. I still have hours before she wakes up, so I go to the gym downstairs and do my normal routine. After I have showered and dressed, it is closer to the time when she will wake up, so I headed out to the florist on Broad.

I got to the florist as they were opening for the day. My grandmother once told me that you can give any girl roses, but in order to really impress a girl, you need to find flowers that let her know you're thinking of her. I picked out a single Stargazer Lily. They are delicate and beautiful on the outside, but when they open up, they are spectacular, which reminds me of her.

My next stop is McDonald's. I slip the manager a bonus and I get an order of fries that they don't normally make in the morning. With that and the coke, I am ready to head to her apartment.

Instead of parking in her lot like I usually do, I park my car on the street, and walk around the building. Her bedroom light is on, so I am on time. I climbed the stairs, and left her presents in front of her door. The next move is up to her.

At 2:30, Luis called me and asked me to come up to the roof to look at something. Since I was just up there Saturday night, I can't imagine what's wrong, but I head up. As soon as I walk out the door, I can see her. She is sitting with her back to me on the blanket we used. I quickly hit the panel by the door and key in the code that will shut off the rooftop cameras. All I can see is the smooth skin of her back. I start to go to her, and she turns her head to look at me over her shoulder. As I got closer, she stood and handed me a glass of wine from the table.

I stopped to take in the sight of her. She is wearing an electric blue dress, if you could call something that small a dress. The back was cut to show her entire back, and the front is a halter top that drapes in a deep V all the way to her navel. The skirt is tight and barely covers everything it's supposed to. She is also wearing black shoes with gold spike heels and straps around her ankles. She looks like hot sex walking. The way she looks is seared into my brain.

Before I can form a coherent thought, she apologizes for overreacting. I pull her to me, rest my forehead against hers and close my eyes. I say the only word that will come to my mind. "Babe."

She continues, "You should have told me, but I shouldn't have left. I'm sorry."

I kissed her and told her that I was sorry, too. She led me back to the blanket, and we sat so that I could hold her. After a while, I asked her about the outfit she was almost wearing.

She smiled and said, "I thought I might need to persuade you, so I asked Lula to help me shop for courage. Apparently courage requires spandex and truly excellent shoes. On the brighter side, it also comes off really easily."

I laid her down on the blanket and said, "Babe."

**- Smut Warning -**

At first, our kiss was gentle, almost an apology by itself. As soon as I felt the press of her tongue against my lip, I could feel the scorching heat and need that I always feel for her. Our kisses quickly turn hungry. I slide the sides of her top away, baring her perfect breasts to me. I take one of her nipples into my mouth as my fingers graze the other one. I feel her gasp beneath me. Her hands grip my hair as I move from one breast to the other. I roll her onto her side so that she faces me and lavish attention on her breasts. She wraps her leg around me and presses herself against me. I slide my hand up the back of her thigh and under her skirt. I splayed my hand over her ass and press her even closer.

I know that no one can see us. It is this thought alone that makes it impossible for me to move from the blanket and bring her downstairs. I need to make love to her here in the sunlight. I need the light and the heat and the feel of our bodies joined together. I slide the small slips of lace that are her panties down her legs and run my hand back up, savoring the feel of her soft legs. Her kisses have a desperate edge to them and she is making soft moaning sounds in the back of her throat.

I trace the edges of her heat, and she rolls onto her back, panting and opening herself to me. Her nipples glisten in the sunlight, begging for more attention. As I pull one back into my mouth, she runs her hand firmly down the length of my cock, which is straining for her touch. She unbuttons my pants, freeing my length from its restraints and shredding my self control. Her strokes are wild and strong and I sink my fingers into her, rubbing my thumb across the top of her opening. I barely had time to cover her mouth with mine to swallow her screams as she lost herself in her release.

As I feel her orgasm start to subside, I break our kiss and pull back so that I can look at her. She is flushed and panting. I will never stop wanting to see her like this. To know that I am the one who gives this to her. I start to lean over her, but she stops me and rolls me onto my back. She slides my shirt up, and I quickly lean up to pull it off. She straddles my leg and runs her hands over my chest. As she slides her hands back down my abs, she curls her fingers in so that I can feel the press of her nails against my skin. It is unbelievably erotic, and I suck in a breath. At that instant, she takes the tip of my cock into her mouth and runs her tongue along the opening. I arch my back at the sensation.

She pushes me back down with her hands, never looking up from what she is doing. She takes me deeper into her mouth as her hands slide around to my back and she again uses the barest press of her fingernails as her hands move lower. I am lost in the feel of her lips against me. I run my fingers through her hair and press into her scalp, because I need to touch her. She moves against me, taking me even deeper than before. Every stroke of her tongue and caress of her hands is bringing me closer to the edge. When she moans with me fully in her mouth, I am almost undone. I reverse our positions and slide her skirt up far enough that I can enter her in one strong stroke.

She wraps her legs around me, and I can feel the gentle press of her heel against my lower back. Our pace is frantic as we both race toward completion. I sense the change from one heartbeat to the next, and my own release washes through me just as her walls start to clench, drawing me in.

**- End Smut Warning -**

We laid in the sun, wrapped around each other and remembering how to breathe. Eventually, she looks up at me and asks, "Do you feel persuaded?"

I can't help but smile and say, "Babe, you can persuade me anytime."


	9. Chapter 9 - Settling in

**Once again, all the characters you know and love belong to JE. All the mistakes are mine. Thank you again for your kind words and encouragement! I can't believe we're getting close to the end again!**

After our argument on Sunday, I wanted Stephanie to feel more comfortable being around my family before we went to dinner at my parents. I asked Ella and Luis to have dinner with us on 7. Stephanie is already comfortable with Ella, and I know Ella thinks that she is perfect for me. We had a very nice evening. Ella told Stephanie stories about growing up with my mother, and Luis filled her in about some of the various cousins living in and around the area. After we showed them out of the apartment, she turned to me and said, "I really wish she would consider adopting me." I don't think she meant to say it out loud.

Stephanie has been spending all of her nights at my apartment. She goes home every day to get some clothes and feed Rex, but she has had space in my closet since the first time she ever showed up in my apartment, hiding from a gang. There is a dresser drawer in her apartment that contains my t shirts and a pair of boxers. It was there for me even when she was dating the cop. I take a small amount of pleasure from knowing that even when she was living with him, he did not have a drawer at her apartment. Some people would argue that it was because he had the dog, so they stayed at his place, but I know better. It strikes me now that we really have been in a relationship longer than either of us were willing to admit. I like having her here, though. She fills my apartment as well as my life.

On Wednesday, I asked her to join me for lunch. I wanted to show her that I want her here always. We arrived on 7 at the same time, and I pulled her in for a bone melting kiss. By the time we pulled apart, we were both breathing heavily. She smiled and said, "If you had told me we were having a nooner, I'd have eaten before I got here."

I gave her a playful swat on her ass. "Sandwiches are in the fridge, babe."

I could hear her tap on Rex's glass and talk to him as she gave him some food. She came out of the kitchen with a plate of sandwiches and a huge grin. "Did you know that there's a hamster in your kitchen?" She sat on my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck.

I kissed her. "He just wanted to belong where you do."

She hugged me tightly and whispered in my ear, "I Definitely think we have time for a nooner."

The plate of sandwiches lay forgotten on the dining room table as we head to the bedroom.

Halfway through dinner the next night I offered her a job at Rangeman. I could say that I did it for strictly professional reasons, after all she has skills that compliment Rangeman perfectly, but that's not entirely true. I have faith in her ability to do her job as a bounty hunter, but I want her to be close to me. She turns my offer down gently, and I'm not surprised. She has been honing her bounty hunting skills, and I am proud of her. She believes more in herself, and it shows in her work. This new confidence is sexy as hell. I smile at her and tell her that the offer is open anytime she wants it.

She runs her fingers through my hair and says, "I'm a lucky girl, Carlos." She stood and started walking towards the bedroom. Looking over her shoulder she winks at me and says, "Would you like to get lucky, too?"

By the time I make it to the bedroom, she is by her side of the bed. She has her back to me and is removing her pants. As she slowly slides them down her legs, I see the black cotton panties she is wearing. I am immediately turned on. She turns to me, and my suspicions are confirmed. She is wearing the panties that Ella bought for her and embroidered with the Rangeman logo. Seeing my name there never fails to work. It is an invitation for me to claim what is mine. As I walk to her, she takes her shirt off, and I can see that her bra also has my logo on it.

-** Smut Warning -**

I drop to my knees in front of her and place an open mouthed kiss just below the logo. My gaze skims up her body until I am looking at her as she is looking down at me. I slide my hands up the back of her thighs and under the elastic of her panties. I press my mouth to her again without breaking eye contact. She curls her fingers in my hair. I bring one hand to her front, rubbing her through the thin cotton of her panties. Her eyes are dilating and she is starting to breathe heavily, but we have still not broken the contact. "You're mine, babe." I tell her as I continue to rub her. She nods her head, and I slide her panties aside, kissing her smooth skin. "Mine." Her breath shudders through her, but I am only getting started. "Mine." It is a whisper now, and I have to break eye contact at last so that I can taste her, sliding my tongue through her folds as she moans above me.

I pull away from her and slide her panties back into place. I slide up her body as she clings to me. I stop to suck her already hard nipple through her bra, just underneath the other logo. "Mine." My voice is now hoarse, thick with my desire for her. I take a handful of her hair and gently tug her head back, kissing her neck. Her answered, "Yes" vibrates through her throat and into me. I quickly lay her on the bed so that I can take my clothes off as well.

I climbed onto the bed, kissing and licking my way up her legs until I was once again close to her panties. I could see from this close, that they were soaked with her juices. Once more, I pulled them to the side and licked at her core. She was writhing and moaning softly as I flicked my tongue into her, tasting her ecstasy.

As she quieted, I kissed my way along her belly and side until I was spooned around her. I kiss her neck below her ear and tell her again, "You're mine." She kissed me and said, "I have the panties to prove it." Reaching between us, she took me in her hand, and stroked my length. Her hands are soft. She begins trailing kisses across my chest and down my abs. She took me in her mouth and I was rocked by the sensations. When I tried to bring her back up to me so that I could lose myself in her heat, she looked up at me and said, "Mine." I closed my eyes and lost myself to her.

**- End Smut Warning - **

Our mostly eaten dinner was cold by the time we made it back to the dining room. We cleaned up the dishes, and she found the pineapple upside down cake Ella had left her.

On Friday, she went to her parents house for dinner. When she got home, I was in my office, looking over some paperwork. I assumed her evening went well, because she looked relaxed and happy when she came in. She hopped up on my desk and swung her legs back and forth until I was finished, then she told me she wanted to be just like her grandmother when she grew up. I didn't tell her, but she is well on her way. They both have a love of life that is endearing. Fortunately, Stephanie doesn't have her grandmother's desire to grab every male ass that gets close to her. I only want her hands on me.

On Sunday, she decided to go to her apartment to get ready for dinner. When I asked her why, she just told me that she had some 'Serious girl stuff' to do, and that her 'arsenal' was still at the apartment. I chuckled, and walked her to the door. I kissed her goodbye and promised to pick her up later.

She was ready by the time I got to her apartment. She had obviously taken time and care with her appearance, and she looked beautiful. I settled her into the Turbo, and we headed to Newark.

As soon as we got to my parents house, we were surrounded by children. They had been playing outside, and were curious to see the only girl I have brought here besides Julie. We made it past the kids and into the house. My father was in the living room with my the rest of the guys watching a ball game, but I led her straight back to the kitchen. The kitchen was busy as usual as people bustled back and forth between there and the dining room. I hope she can see that it is similar to her family, just with twice as many people, and probably half the guilt.

I cleared my throat, which didn't make a dent in the noise level. When I said, "Mother, grandmother, I would like you to meet Stephanie Plum.", the noise level dropped and all eyes turned to us. There was a second where I was afraid she might bolt, but she held her ground as first my mother then my grandmother welcomed her with hugs.

Once she had been greeted by the women in my family, the rest of the evening went smoothly. She fit in well with my family. She always seems to be able to capture the hearts of everyone around her, and my family is no different.

It was late when we finally left. Stephanie agreed to my mother's request that she come back with me again, and Celia walked with us back to the car. I went ahead of the girls to give them some space to talk. I regretted it as soon as I heard Stephanie's laugh. She was still laughing when she got in the car and we finally pulled away from the curb. I can't begin to imagine what Celia told her. Siblings know all your embarrassing stories, and won't hesitate to share.

I have one more stop planned for this evening, and I am nervous. Stephanie will be the only person I have ever shared this with. This for me is the moment of truth. I decided to park outside the gate so that she can get the full impact. The look in her eyes tells me that she knows where we are. She is both anxious and little bit afraid. I understand, because I feel the same way. I fob the gate open. I wonder If she realizes that I used the same key fob that I use for our apartment on 7. If she does, will she realize that she has always had the key? There is no more time to wonder. This is it. This is the Batcave.


	10. Chapter 10 - Forever

**Well, we made it to the end again. For**** the last time, this is my take on JE's world. All mistakes are mine. I don't profit in any way. I would like to thank everybody who took the time to read my story. It's been quite a journey, and I'm glad I got to share it with you. Ps. If you haven't read the fiction books I mentioned, please please please consider it. Message me and I'll send you the Authors names. They are AMAZING books.**

My house is a large Tudor style, situated on a large corner lot and enclosed by a wrought iron fence. There is a minimum of timber framing, and fieldstone along the lower level and entryway. The driveway runs along the back of the house and ends at a detached two car garage. The house is comfortable, but it is not a home.

We walked up the driveway towards the back door, ignoring the separate garage. "I haven't been here in about 2 months." I tell her this so that she will understand that this is the way the house had been before we began our relationship. "I've decided to sell it, but I thought you'd like to see it first." I open the door and we step into the house.

The basement level is what you would consider a man cave. Dominating one side of the room is a 9' Brunswick Ashbee pool table with Cardinal red felt and custom fringe pockets. Polished brass cue holders held a variety of sticks. Across from the table was a full bar done in stone with Irish pub stools. The other side of the room features a 70" four color, 3D TV with theater style seating. Along the wall are pinball machines, including two different Batman machines which I bought when Stephanie started calling me that.

We walk up the stairs and emerge in the foyer of the main level. I have used the living room more as a study than a living room. Deep leather couches provide a comfortable place to sit and read any of the well used books that line the shelves along one wall. I watched as she ran her hands along the titles. There is a broad range of books here, from history to biographies to literature. Mein Kampf sits next to Replay, The Art of Racing in the Rain, and A Prayer for Owen Meany. Shakespeare next to Sun Tzu. I have spent hours reading these books, and having her touching them feels like a caress.

We pass by the kitchen and dining room. I do not use these rooms frequently, so I rarely think about them. I lead her up the stairs. On the right side of the hallway is a guest bedroom that I furnished so that it would not be empty. It has never been used. The next door is the guest bathroom. Again, it is nicely appointed, but unused. The third room is a small office. I watch her wander around it. This office is smaller than the ones I have at Haywood, but at least it is used sometimes.

Finally we get to the last door in the hallway. This door is always closed. The door is closed off from the rest of the house as much as she would probably say that my emotions are closed off from the rest of the world. I lean my forehead against hers and take a deep breath. She gives me a small kiss, and I open the door.

The master bedroom is large and very modern. The carpet is white, the walls are slate gray. There are seats by the fireplace, which are black leather and chrome. The table by the chairs is chrome and glass. The king sized bed provides the only color in the room. It has a black leather wrapped headboard, gray sheets that are as soft as the sheets in Trenton, and a deep maroon spread. There is an archway leading to the master bath and closet. The longest wall consists of four mirrored sections. As Stephanie looks over the room, I walk to the first mirror and swing it open.

The first section holds pieces of my youth. Family pictures and school photos line the shelves. My little league baseball mitt and the ball from the first home run I ever hit are also there. There is a newspaper article from a street fair with a picture of me and another boy wearing fireman hats. The pictures go through middle school, where they started taking a rough turn. I had started to get involved with local gangs, and in my 8th grade school photo, I looked like I was close to becoming a Gangbanger. While she looks at the pictures and what they represent, I open the second section.

The second section started with my move to Miami, where I got my second chance. My freshman photo is understandably sullen. I had been taken from everyone I knew and sent to live with my grandmother. When I first got there, I certainly didn't see it as the gift that it was. Eventually, I got with the program, and by my senior picture, I was looking pretty cocky. There were also pictures from my two years at Rutgers. College friends and Frat brothers who thought they had life figured out. Then I met the Army recruiter and learned that I didn't know a damned thing.

I opened the third section. This section more than any other holds most of my dark corners. These photos are from my Army days. A group photo of my squad. My dog tags. The SEAL hat given to my by a man I had become friends with. Moments after he gave me the hat, he was hit by a sniper and killed instantly. It reminds me to always be aware of my surroundings. There is also a shelf for Julie. There is one photo of Rachel while she was pregnant, then pictures of Julie, either taken while I was visiting, or sent by Rachel over the years. There was even a picture of my first Rangeman office. It was small, but it was mine.

This is as far as I can go tonight. I don't mind if she opens the final door. In fact, she needs to see what's there to truly understand, but I have been looking too deeply at the contents of the other sections. I walk over to the seating area and stand, staring out the window. After what seemed like hours, she walked up behind me, put her arms around my waist and rested her head against my back. She said softly, "Thank you for showing this to me. I love you, Carlos."

I turned in her arms and kissed her. She has seen more of me than anyone else, and she still loves me. In this moment, I have no doubt that I will love her forever. I pick her up and carry her to the bed. I need her desperately.

**- Smut Warning -**

I lay her down gently, and slide her dress from her body as she starts to remove my clothes. I laid down on the bed next to her, kissing her and holding her close. I want to make love to her gently, but I also want to posses her. She rolls me onto my back and rises above me, gently lowering herself until I fill her completely. At first, her movements are slow, and a sigh escapes her. I use my hands to explore her body, as she rides me. I can feel her shatter as her first orgasm takes her.

As she starts to come down, I start to move in her, keeping the strokes slow and gentle. She lays kisses across my chest as I revel in the feel of her. I reverse our positions and brush her hair off her face. She is flushed with pleasure, and she looks beautiful. I kiss her deeply, keeping my body flush to hers. I want to feel every inch of her as I show her my love. Her next orgasm washes through her, and she begins to moan.

I start to move faster, needing to feel myself sliding in and out of her. She wraps her arms and legs around me, urging me to go deeper. By the time her cries have reached a fevered pitch and her fingers dig deep into the muscles of my shoulders, we are at a frantic pace. She throws her head back and shouts her orgasm, and I combust.

**- End Smut Warning -**

I reached for her several times during the night. Sometimes we made love with a gentle passion, other times at a frenzied pace. By the time sleep finally claimed us, the first light of morning was peeking over the horizon.

I awoke a few hours later, and watched her sleep. Gradually, she opened her eyes, almost startling me with their blue depths. I held her and kissed her with a gentle hello. I asked her why she didn't open the last door. She told me that she had already seen more of me than she thought she ever would. Then she asked me why I was selling this house. I told her that I needed to be closer to my heart, so I was looking at places in Trenton. I wanted her input, though, because it was her home, too.

She asked, "Are you asking me to move in with you?"

Instead of answering her directly, I got out of bed and opened the last door. This is the door to my future. It is arguably the most important door. All of the other doors led me to this one. There is only one photo in here. This is the only thing that I need. Tank gave me the photo after he took it years ago. It was one of the few unguarded moments I have had since I joined the Army. It was taken outside the bonds office, around the corner where I take her so that I can touch her. We had our arms around each other and were leaning in about to kiss. You could tell by looking at the picture that we loved each other, but I don't think either of us had realized it yet.

I sat next to her on the bed where she looked at the photo. "I'm offering you the Batcave, babe."

She looked up at me with love and hope in her eyes. "I thought the Batcave was forever."

I smiled and took her hand. "The Batcave _is_ forever."


End file.
